A splendid marble portrait of King Charles I
Workshop of Louis-François Roubiliac (1702–1762), Portrait of King Charles I, Around 1759, Terracotta painted to simulate bronze, The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust) © The Courtauld

Workshop of Roubilliac

Around 1759

In the 18th century sculpted portraits of great men in history, called ‘worthies’, were fashionable among the British elite. Busts of King Charles I were less common than other figures. A splendid marble portrait of the King was made by French-born sculptor Louis-François Roubiliac. He ran a successful practice and was admired for his lifelike portraits. This bust, with its simplified drapery and shallow three-dimensionality, seems to have been produced in his workshop as a less costly version, or multiple, of the more finely detailed marble work.

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Two men sit across from each other at a table covered with a brown tablecloth, playing cards. Both men wear overcoats and hats, and the man on the left smokes a pipe. They sit inside a wooden building. i Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) The Card Players, around 1892-96, The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

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